Events from the year 2012 in the

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Incumbents

* Monarch –

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...

* Prime minister – Helle Thorning Schmidt

Events

* 1 January – Denmark takes over the

Presidency of the Council of the European Union The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...

for a six-month term. * 15 June –

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

legalised in Denmark.

Culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

* 10 January –

Bjarke Ingels Group Bjarke Ingels Group, often referred to as BIG, is a Copenhagen, New York City, London, Barcelona, Shanghai, Oslo, Los Angeles, Zurich, and Bhutan-based group of architects and designers operating within the fields of architecture, product, lands ...

's 8 House receives one of nine AIA Honor Awards from the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

."AIA Award 2012 for BIG's 8 House"
, ''DAC''. Retrieved 11 October 2012. * 2 March –

Henning Larsen Architects Henning Larsen Architects is an international architectural firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1959 by Henning Larsen, it has around 750 employees. In 2008, it opened an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and in 2011, an office in Munich ...

' Harpa Concert Hall in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

and C. F. Møller Architects' Hospice Djursland receive two out of eight 2012

Civic Trust Awards The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

given to projects outside the UK. * 23 March – 3XN's Stadshuis Nieuwegein is inaugurated in the Netherlands. * 29 May – COBE receives the

Nykredit Architecture Prize The Nykredit Architecture Prize is the largest Danish architecture prize. Founded by the Nykredit Foundation (an arm of the Nykredit Group), it is awarded annually to a person, or group of people, who have personally, or through their work, made ...

Nykredit Nykredit () is a Danish financial service company. Its activities range from mortgages, retail and investment banking to insurance, leasing and asset management. , Nykredit Group was the largest lender in Denmark and one of the major private bon ...

's head office in Copenhagen. * 23 October – Henning Larsen receives the Praemium Imperiale Award for Architecture at a ceremony in Tokyo.

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

* 8 January –

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...

Melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...

is selected as the Best Film of 2011 by the US Society of Film Critics. * 29 January – At the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competitio ...

, Mads Matthiesen wins the ''World Cinema Directing Award'' for his debut film ''

Teddy Bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

'' and the ''World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary'' goes to Lars Skree for his work on the Danish documentary '' Putin's Kiss''. * 12 February –

Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970) is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed the ''Pusher'' trilogy (1996–2005), the crime drama '' Bronson'' (2008), and the adventure film '' Valhalla Rising'' (2009). I ...

's film ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...

'' is nominated for Best Film at the

65th British Academy Film Awards The 65th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 12 February 2012 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2011 in film, 2011. Presented by the British Academy of F ...

but the award goes to '' The Artist''. * 18 February – At the

62nd Berlin International Film Festival The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the president of the jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. Am ...

, the Danish period drama ''

A Royal Affair ''A Royal Affair'' () is a 2012 drama film directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander and Mikkel Følsgaard. The story is set in the 18th century, at the court of the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark, and focus ...

'' takes two prizes when Nickolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg wins a Silver Bear for Best Script and Mikkel Boe Følgsgaard wins a

Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor () was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the films i ...

. * 3 March – The

65th Bodil Awards The 65th Bodil Awards were held on 3 March 2012 in the Bremen Theater in Copenhagen, Denmark, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2010. Lars von Trier's ''Melancholia'' won the awards for Best Danish Film and Best Cinematography ( Al ...

are held in the Bremen Theatre in Copenhagen, ''

'' wins the award for Best Danish Film of the previous year. * 16–27 May –

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Austrian filmma ...

Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films '' The Cele ...

's film '' The Hunt'' premiers in competition and the Danish animated student film ''Slug Invasion'' is part of the Cinéfoundation program. ** 25 May – ''The Hunt'' win the Cannes Film Festival. ** 27 May –

Mads Mikkelsen Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher (film series), ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), Detective Sergea ...

wins the award for Best Actor at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

for his role in ''The Hunt''. * 1 December –

and

Tobias Lindholm Tobias Lindholm (born 5 July 1977) is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His 2015 directed film '' A War'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to ''A War'', he has directed the films '' R'' (2010), ...

wins the award for Best Screenwriter at the

25th European Film Awards The 25th European Film Awards were presented on 1 December 2012 in Valletta, Malta. The winners were selected by over 2,500 members of the European Film Academy. Winners and nominees Best Film Best Animated Feature Film The nominees for Best ...

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising Interactive media, media that is inter ...

* 10 February – Laerke Posselt wins the award for Best Portrait at the 2012 World Press Photo Contest for her portrait of the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian-born Danish actress Mellica Mehraban taken while she apprenticed at ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

''. Jan Dagø from ''

Jyllands-Posten (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 120,000 copies.Tahrir Square Tahrir Square (, ; ), also known as Martyr Square, is a public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The 2011 Egyptian revolution and the resignation of President of Egypt, ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. * 24 April – '' Borgen'' and '' The Killing'' (season two) are two of the three nominees for Best International YV Series when the nominations for the

2012 British Academy Television Awards The 2012 British Academy Television Awards (formally known as the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards) were held on 27 May 2012 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The nominees were announced on 24 April 2012. Rolf Harris was awarded the ...

are announced. * 27 May – '' Borgen'' wins the award for Best International TV Series at the

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

Sport

* 27 July – 12 August –

Denmark at the 2012 Summer Olympics Denmark competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark sent the nation's second largest delegation to the Games after the 1996 Summer Olympics in ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Badminton

* 16–21 April – With three gold medals, two silver medals and four bronze medals, Denmark finishes as the best nation at the

2012 European Badminton Championships The 2012 European Badminton Championships were the 23rd tournament of the European Badminton Championships. They were held in Karlskrona, Sweden, from 16 to 21 April 2012, and they were organised by the Badminton Europe and Svenska Badmintonförb ...

Cycling

* 7 February Marc Hester (DEN) and Iljo Keisse (BEL) win the

Six Days of Copenhagen The Six Days of Copenhagen is a six-day track cycling race held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event was first held in 1934. The event is held at the Ballerup Super Arena Ballerup Super Arena (formerly Siemens Arena) is a multi-purpose i ...

six-day track cycling race. * 5 May –

2012 Giro d'Italia The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Danish city of Herning, and ended in Milan. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the fir ...

begins in

Herning Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)

, Denmark. * 17 May –

Lars Bak Lars Ytting Bak (born 16 January 1980) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the Fakta, , , , and squads. Since retiring as a rider, Bak has acted as a directeur sportif for in ...

wins the 12th stage of

Football

* 17 May –

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen (, ), commonly known as F.C. København, F.C. Copenhagen, Copenhagen, or simply FCK, is a Danish professional football club based in Copenhagen. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of Kjøbenhavns Boldklu ...

wins the 2011–12 Danish Cup by defeating

AC Horsens Alliance Club Horsens (), commonly referred to as AC Horsens () or simply Horsens, is a Danish professional football club based in Horsens, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1994, as a superstructure on Horsens fS (founded 1915), Stensballe ...

1–0 in the 2012 Danish Cup Final. * 23 May –

FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish association football, football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the to ...

wins the

2011–12 Danish Superliga The 2011–12 Danish Superliga season was the 22nd season of the Danish Superliga, which decided the Danish football championship. The season began on with OB, the previous season's runners-up playing the cup winners FC Nordsjælland. It con ...

by defeating

3–0 in

Farum Park Right to Dream Park, historically known as Farum Park, is a football stadium in Farum, Denmark. It is the home ground of FC Nordsjælland and Hillerød Fodbold. The stadium has a capacity of 10,300 of which 9,800 are seated. Farum Park is the f ...

after passing

in the table in the previous round.

Golf

* 1 April –

Thorbjørn Olesen Jacob Thorbjørn Olesen (born 21 December 1989) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, where he has won eight times including the 2016 Turkish Airlines Open and the 2018 Italian Open. He has also won two important pai ...

wins

Sicilian Open The Sicilian Open was a European Tour men's professional golf tournament. It was played for the first time in 2011. The event was held in Sicily at the Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa. In 2012 the event was held at Verdura Golf & Spa Resort on a lin ...

on the

2012 European Tour The 2012 European Tour was the 41st season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972. Changes for 2012 Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the tour had announced their intention to re ...

Handball

* 29 January – Denmark wins the

2012 European Men's Handball Championship The 2012 EHF European Men's Handball Championship was the tenth edition of the men's continental handball tournament, which was held in Serbia between 15 and 29 January 2012. Sixteen teams qualified for the event, including host nation Serbia, ...

after defeating

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

in the final. * 1 March –

Mikkel Hansen Mikkel Hansen (born 22 October 1987) is a Danish former professional handball player. Widely regarded as the greatest handball player of all timeHansen has won the IHF World Player of the Year a record-tying three times. He played as a left bac ...

is named the World's Best Handball Player by the IHF after receiving 31% of the votes.

Motorsports

* 14 July – Denmark wins the

2012 Speedway World Cup The 2012 FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the twelfth Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM Speedway World Cup, the annual international Motorcycle speedway, speedway world championship tournament. It took place between 7 July and 14 ...

Other

* 28 February –

Frans Nielsen Frans Nielsen (born 24 April 1984) is a Danish former professional ice hockey forward who played with the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL). Nielsen was the first Danish citizen to play in the NHL. Inter ...

reaches 300 matches in

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

for

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

in a match against

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

Births

* 24 January – Countess Athena of Monpezat

Deaths

JanuaryMarch

* 1 January –

Anders Frandsen Anders Frandsen (8 December 1960 – c. 1 January 2012) was a Danish musician, singer, actor and TV presenter. He was born in Copenhagen. Career Although Frandsen was not a trained actor, he appeared in theatre performances during the 1980s. ...

, singer and television presenter (born

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

) * 15 January –

Ib Spang Olsen Ib Spang Olsen (11 June 1921 – 15 January 2012) was a Danish writer and illustrator best known to generations of Danes for cartoons and illustrations, many of which appeared in children's publications. Those include a series of nursery rhyme ...

, writer and illustrator (born

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

) * 6 February Erik Reitzel, engineer (born

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

) * 19 March **

Marianne Grøndahl Marianne Hoppe Grøndahl (27 November 1938 – 19 March 2012) was a Danish photographer. Trained in publicity and press photography, she worked in both the theatrical environment and as a documentary photographer, remembered for her images of Jo ...

, photographer (born

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

) **

Hanne Borchsenius Hanne Borchsenius (30 November 1935 – 19 March 2012) was a Danish film actress. She appeared in 32 films between 1956 and 1988. Filmography * '' The Girl in a Swing'' (1988) * '' Kampen om den røde ko'' (1987) * '' Misantropen'' (1974) * '' ...

, film actress (born

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

) * 22 March –

Kirsten Passer Kirsten Passer (13 March 1930 – 22 March 2012) was a Danish film actress. She appeared in 29 films between 1955 and 1976. She was born in Nårup, Denmark. She is the sister of Danish actor Dirch Passer. Filmography * '' Brand-Børge ry ...

, film actress (born

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

)

AprilJune

* 16 April –

Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller (; 13 July 1913 – 16 April 2012) was a Danish shipping magnate. He was a longtime figure at A.P. Moller–Maersk Group, which was founded by his father. Personal life Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller was born in He ...

, shipping magnate (born

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

) * 6 May –

Jan Trøjborg Jan Trøjborg (14 December 1955 – 6 May 2012) was a Denmark, Danish politician representing the Social Democrats (Denmark), Social Democrats. He was a member of parliament (Folketinget) from 8 September 1987 to 31 December 2005. In November 200 ...

, politician (born

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

)

JulySeptember

* 29 July –

John Stampe John Stampe Møller (16 February 1957 – 29 July 2012) was a Danish football player and coach. He played 444 games (and scored 12 goals) for AGF Aarhus and 1 game for the Denmark national team. He later managed his former club AGF.

, footballer (born

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

) * 11 August –

Henning Moritzen Henning Moritzen (3 August 1928 – 11 August 2012) was a Danish film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1950 and 2010. He was born in Taarbæk, Denmark. Partial filmography Film * '' John og Irene'' (1949) – Gæst ved Car ...

, actor (born

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

) * 2 September –

Le Klint Le Klint is a Denmark, Danish light furniture company known for its lamp shades made out of pleated and folded paper. History The design was originally created by the architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint in about 1900 for his own use. Unlike prev ...

, designer (born

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

) * 21 September – Sven Hazel, author (born

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

)

OctoberDecember

* 8 October –

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he s ...

, saxophonist and composer (born

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

) * 22 December – Mira Wanting, film actress (born

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012 in Denmark Years of the 21st century in Denmark